When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for a long time....
When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends - not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.
The Mostly True Story of Jack is a tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. It's about things broken and things put back together. Above all, it's about finding a place to belong.
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"This had the feel of the best of Neil Gaiman, which puts it in a pretty elite class of Newbery caliber books. One of the things I particularly liked was the fact that Jack had times when he WASN'T a character I empathized with. It emphasized his "other-ness". I also loved the imagery of the plants. One of my favorite parts was when the bully gets caught crying- I love it when the seemingly one-dimensional characters reveal a complexity. I don't want to give out any spoilers, so I will stop. I teach middle school and have recommended this to a number of kids."
—
Elizabeth (5 out of 5 stars)